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| A female model wears LG Electronics' electronic mask, the LG Puricare Mask, newly released in Korea, Thursday. Courtesy of LG Electronics |
By Kim Hyun-bin
LG Electronics belatedly introduced its electronic face mask due to the late implementation of government safety regulatory standards for electronic masks. However, the launch of its product on the local market comes a little late as the government is considering lifting the indoor mask mandate by March next year, according to industry officials Thursday.
Although electronic masks have been sold in more than 20 countries, release in Korea has been blocked due to the lack of defined safety standards until now.
LG Electronics launched the LG Puricare Mask, Thursday, a wearable air purifier that is worn on one's face. The filter attached to the mask removes particles as small as 0.01 micrometers.
LG Electronics' electronic mask was first released in Hong Kong and Taiwan in November 2020. Since then, the product has been introduced in a total of 23 countries, including Vietnam and Spain. However, it was not released in Korea due to the lack of defined safety standards related to electronic masks.
To circumvent the issue, LG Electronics applied for a regulatory sandbox, a system granting temporary permission for innovative technologies and products, at the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology (KIAT) in June of last year, and preliminary safety standards were prepared in December.
LG Electronics finally obtained the certification according to this standard in September of this year and launched the product after more than 25 months of delay after its first overseas release.
With the certification, the PuriCare mask can now be used in lieu of a regular face mask both indoors and outdoors. It also received the electronic mask certification from the Korea Air Cleaning Association, which evaluated items such as the leak rate of the air inside the mask, as well as filter performance.
"The new electronic mask concept equipped with unrivaled technology will provide a differentiated customer experience," an LG Electronics official said.
The company explains that the mask has fans on its left and right sides, so it detects inhalations and exhalations, enabling comfortable breathing even when exercising. Filters need to be replaced once a month. Although it comes in one size, it is designed to be adjustable to each user's face, so that anyone of any age or sex can adjust it.
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